IUM murder accused ‘receives death threats’

Windhoek-Thirty-six-year-old murder accused Victor Elia who stands accused of killing his supposed girlfriend, who was a student at the International University of Management (IUM), is living in fear after allegedly receiving threatening messages from members of the public.

It emerged in court yesterday that Elia had requested through his lawyer Kaghila Amoomo that a proper search of every person entering the courtroom be conducted as he feared he might be gunned down while in the dock.
“My client’s life has been verbally threatened by members of the public, thus the search needs to be conducted,” explained Amoomo.

So it was not business as usual at Katutura Magistrate’s Court yesterday when the public inside the fully packed courtroom were requested to queue up outside so that police officers could do a thorough body search of every person.

Elia has been fighting through his lawyer to get bail after being arrested in January in connection with the murder that same month of 25-year-old Iyaloo Ndapandula Hainghumbi. Hainghumbi’s corpse was found dumped along the B1 road to Okahandja on January 17.

The case has sparked wide public interest as has been visible by the big turnout of members of the public in court ever since Elia made his first appearance on January 23.

Elia claims he had no hand in Hainghumbi’s death as the last time he saw the deceased, according to him, was on January 13. Allegedly on that day the two met at Hakahana service station as the deceased had requested an amount of N$400 from the accused.

The accused explained that while in custody he found out he was being cheated by the deceased who happened to be romantically involved with someone else. He said the deceased even spent the weekend of March 13 in Swakopmund with her alleged second boyfriend.

However, according to the prosecution phone records indicate that the two were in the same area of Otjomuise until January 16 when the deceased’s phone was switched off.
The defence explained that that evidence has not been authenticated as viable in court.
But the public prosecutor Fillemon Nyau noted that the documents will be authenticated and more witnesses will be called.